261 religious encyclopedia exile of the Israelites Extreme Unction

domestic chaplain to the . duke of Rutland, retain­

ing this office under three successive dukes. In

1711 he was presented to the rectory of Whitwell,

Derbyshire, and in 1736 to that of Barwick‑in­

Elmet, Yorkshire. He was an eminent preacher

and his tracts and sermons received considerable

attention. His principal works are, A Dissertation

1757), very popular in its day; The Resurrection o f

preached at Oxford to refute Locke's idea of per­

sonality and identity; The Christian Faith Asserted

against Deists, Arians, and Soeinians (Oxford,

1732), Lady Moyer lectures delivered at St. Paul's

in 1728‑29, forming his greatest work; and Ser­

mons on the Creation, Fall, and Redemption of Man

(London, 1748), published, with a sketch of Felton,

by his son.

BIBLIoasAPHY: DNB, xviii. 305.

FELTON,JOHN: English Roman Catholic layman (d.1570). He was born of an old Norfolk family, in­herited large means, and lived in the dissolved abbey of Bermondsey, near Southwark, on the Surrey side of the Thames (in present London). He was an ardent Roman Catholic, and his wife had been a maid of honor to Queen Mary. She was a child friend of Queen Elizabeth, and remained on friendly terms with her. When the papal bull excommu­nicating Elizabeth arrived in England he procured copies from the Spanish ambassador and circulated them. One of them he affixed to the gate of the palace of the bishop of London, then in St. Paul's churchyard, between two and three in the morning of Thursday, May 25th, 1570 (Corpus Christi Day). The bull is dated in Rome Feb. 25th, 1570. In the list of bulls it is called Regnans in excelsis, from its opening words. After a brief introduction, in which mention is made of the " One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, out of which is no salvation," it asserts that heresy was introduced into England by Henry VIII., purged away by Mary, but reintro­duoed by Elizabeth. It then specifies Elizabeth's offenses in abolishing the mass and other rites and ceremonies of the Roman Church, permitting heret­ical books to be circulated, and in depriving the Roman Catholic clergy of their positions and im­prisoning many of them. It then goes on to say: " We make it known that Elizabeth, and as many as stand on her side in these matters, have run into the danger of our curse and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ. We also make it known that we have deprived her of that right which she pretended to have in the kingdom aforesaid, and also from all and every authority, dignity, and priv­ilege of hers. We declare that all, whosoever by any occasion have taken oath to her, are forever discharged of such oath, and also from all fealty and service which was due to her by reason of her government, and we deprive the said Elizabeth of all legal claim to reign and of the allegiance of the abovesaid. We charge and forbid all and every one of her nobles, subjects and people, and others afore­said, not to be so hardy as to obey her, or her will

Fenofau the Tables

Fdnelon THE NEW SCHAFF‑HERZOG B98

BIBLIoQ$APHY: For his trial see Cobbett's Complete Collec­tion of State Trials, i. 1086‑87, London, 1809 eqq. For the text of the bull am Bishop John Jewel's Works, ed. for the Parker Society, iv. 1131‑32, with Jewel's racy comments and partial translation of the bull in his dis­course entitled, A View of a Seditious Bull Sent into England from Pius Quintus, Bishop of Rome, the same, pp. 1133‑60. For Felton's beatification consult The Tablet (London) for.Jan. 15th, 1887, pp. 81‑‑82.

was subjected to a trial, but‑was allowed to go back

to his old parish. In 1805 he removed to Vohrin­

gen. There he completed a translation of the New

Testament (ed. and published by M. Wittmann,

afterward bishop of Regensburg, Nuremberg, 1808),

which for a long time was much used by German

Roman Catholics. (A. HAUCK.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. M. Bailer. Aus Penebxrps Leben in Sdmmt­ticks Werke, vol. xxxix., Bulzbach, 1841; C. von Schmid,

Erinnerunpen Gus rneinem Leben, 4 vols., Augsburg 1853‑

57; V. Thalhofer, Beitrage sur Geachichts des Attermysti‑

cismus im Bisthum Augsburg, pp. 68‑69, Regensburg,

1857; $L, iv. 1324‑27.

FENELOH, FRANVOIS DE SALIGNAC DE LA MOTHE.

Early Life (§ 1).

Reputation for Tolerance Unearned (§ 2). Missionary Labors (§ 3).

Tutorship of Duke of Burgundy (¢ 4). Championship of Mme. Guyon (¢ 5).

Conduct of His Diocese (§ 6).

TdIdmaque (§ 7).

Estimate of His Character (1 8).

Franqois de Salignac.de la Moths F6nelon, the French prelate and educator, was born at the castle of Fdnelon in PErigord (the modern department of the Dordogne), Aug. 6, 1651; d. at Cambrai Jan. 7, 1715. He was the younger son of the Marquis of F6nelon, and was brought up in an atmosphere of strict piety. Under the guidance of a private tutor he laid the foundation of an excellent knowl‑

edge of the classics and after a short

:. Early stay at the University of Cahors he

Life. went to Paris, where he devoted him‑

self to the study of philosophy and theology at the Jesuit CoWge du PWsis. Made an abU when only fifteen, he achieved distinction by his oratorical gifts; he later entered the semi­nary of St. Sulpice, where he spent five years in strict retirement, devoted primarily to the study of the Greek Fathers. He became a priest in 1675 and was soon made supervisor of the Nouvelles Converties, an association of women, chiefly of noble rank, whose object was to instruct women newly converted to Roman Catholicism, or those inclined toward conversion, in the principles of the Roman Catholic faith.

In his attitude toward Protestants F6nelon does not seem to have earned the epithet of " tolerant " which has been bestowed upon him not only by Roman writers but also by Protestant historians. He was certainly not free from the prejudices of his Church and his time. In his Dissertation sur la tol6rance he asserts that the Roman Church as opposed to the Protestants can not logically extend

toleration to dissidents, and in his

a. Reputa‑ sermon Pour la profession religieuse Lion for Tol‑ dune nouvelle convertie he character‑

erance izes schism as the worst of crimes.

Unearned. Speaking of his old friend Mme.

Guyon he says " If it be true that she has attempted to disseminate the damnable teach­ings of Molinos, they ought to burn her and not admit her to communion, as the Bishop of Meaux has done.." Finelon employed pacific means, nevertheless, in his missionary work, and through his fine oratorical powers, his instructive cate‑

After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Fdnelon was one of the noted ecclesiastics sent into the provinces " to effect the conversion of the few Huguenots remaining in the country. His labors lay in the districts of Saintonge and Aunis. When he took leave of the king, he begged to be allowed

arp of the Apostles, he wished to accom­

g. Cham‑ love of God, F6nelon laid down, which

It is in the last period of his life, during eighteen

years of labor in his diocese (1697‑1715) that

Fdnelon showed himself in the noblest light.

Devoted to his pastoral duties, he made himself

thoroughly acquainted with conditions in every

part of his jurisdiction, giving himself up espe­

cially to the task of training worthy

6. Conduct priests and removing for this purpose of His the diocesan seminary from Valen‑

Diocese. ciennes to Cambrai where it enjoyed

his personal supervision. A master

of pulpit oratory himself, he combated the pre­

vailing taste for declamation, laying down as the

threefold object of the preacher to convince,‑ paint,

and persuade. During the war of the Spanish

Succession (1702‑13) his diocese was repeatedly

the scene of hostilities. In 1709, when the country

around Cambrai was laid waste by the enemy,

F6nelon turned his palace into a refuge for the in­

habitants of entire villages, and gave his personal

care to the sick and wounded. He placed his

episcopal income at the disposal of the government

for the relief of famine. The nobility of his con­

duct did not fail to impress even the foe, and Prince

Eugene and the duke of Marlborough established

guards for the protection of his personal property

during the occupation of the country by the allies.

In the Jansenist controversy F6nelon took an active part as an opponent of the teachings of the bishop of Ypres. He requested the pope to obtain from the king the dismissal of all dignitaries who should refuse to subscribe to the anti‑Jansenist formula, and their excommunication in case of obstinate opposition. He gave unconditional sup­port to the bull Un~genitus directed against the Jansenists. On the other hand, to the Protestants of the country he maintained, according to some authorities, an attitude that went to the extreme of tolerance. His pastoral duties still left him time for literary activity. As a member of the French Academy his advice was called for in the work on

7. T61d‑ vehemently protested. Nevertheless

maque. the book itself contains echoes and

images of the time. The work is

written in a highly attractive style and reveals a

sound knowledge of antiquity. What detracts

from it is the blending of Greek mythology with

Christian doctrine and ethics, of antiquity with

modern times, a process resulting in a general

impression of unreality. Although the king had

forbidden all intercourse between F6nelon and the

duke of Burgundy, the two remained in constant

communication through common friends. On im­

portant occasions the young duke turned for advice

to his old teacher, and when the death of the Dau­

phin (1711) made the duke heir to the throne, a

new career seemed about to open for F6nelon.

But if he entertained hopes of playing the part of a

Mazarin or a Richelieu, the death of the duke in

the following year dashed them to the ground. On

hearing the fatal news he remarked " My ties are

now severed‑nothing more binds me to earth."

The last years of his life were passed in partial

retirement and devotion.

Fdnelon's numerous literary, theological and

political writings offer abundant testimony to the

versatility of his talents and the wide extent of his

knowledge. Similarly many‑sided does his charac­

ter appear. By nature mild, he was stern to him­

self and often severe to those who

8. Estimate differed from him in belief. With a of His strong bent for mysticism, he neverthe‑

Character. less possessed remarkable insight into

practical affairs and. conditions. In­

sisting as a theologian upon " a pure and unselfish

love for God " and revealing as archbishop a spirit

of noble sacrifice and of devoted service toward the

poor and the suffering, he aspired at the same time

to power and dominion. An earnest champion of

authority and established doctrine in the Roman

Catholic Church and an opponent of all religious

innovations, he showed himself, in the field of

politics and social science an advocate of ideals

bordering on Utopianism. In an age when abso­

lutism was regarded as almost a divine principle,

F6nelon was the first to speak of popular rights and

the popular welfare. In this manner his ideas

represent an anticipation of the eighteenth cen­

tury, whose philosophers, notably D'Alembert,

praise him highly. On the whole, in spite of certain

defects, we may decidedly place him among the

noblest characters and most talented writers of his

day. (J. EHNIt.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: An edition of Wnelon'e works, with Vie

by Y. M. M. de Querbaeuf, was published. 9 vols., 1787‑